Let me tell you something about my people the Luhya. They sometimes classified trees as male and female. Just like in assigning gender in animals, the gender roles were based on appearance of leaves, fruits and smell. One such tree is the Kumufutu tree which has the male Kumufutumwe and the female Kumufutu.
Quick Facts On Kumufutu/Muholu/Omufutu Tree
| Scientific Name | vitex doniana |
| Common Name | Black plum |
| Local names | Bukusu: Kumufutu, Chifutu (fruit); Other Luhya tribes: Muholu, Kumufutu, Omufutu; Tachoni: Chifutu (fruit), Omufutu, Yifutu (fruit); |
| Key Characteristics |
The Male Kumufutumwe Tree
Take the example of Kumufutu tree that produces chifutu. Chifutu are small black sweet fruit with succulent exoderm and hard seed in the middle. The small Chifutu came from Kumufutumwe tree. This was also classified as the male species of this tree.
Kumufutu tree grows big forming small white flowers the size of coffee blooms. As the blooms drop off, small green berries begin forming that mature from deep green to luminous green to purple black color. The berries can be picked when mature and kept in a cool dry place to ripen just the same way one keeps avocados. However, the best berries are those that sun ripen.
When you throw efutu in your mouth, at first you will not taste anything because the ectoderm has a firm smooth cover. As you dig in, you meet a sweet taste, succulent endoderm and a tough endoderm just like that of a plum. Your work will revolve around extracting as much juice and flavor from the pulp before throwing it away when you are convinced there is nothing remaining on the seed.
The Female Kumufutu Tree
Chifutu come in two sizes. The small efutu the size of a marble is the male gender. The second efutu tree brings forth bigger berries. The berries are approximately the size of a plum with a characteristic aromatic smell. However, they efutu of the Kumfutu are not as sweet as those of the male kumufutumwe. This was the female species of this tree. One cannot tell the difference between these trees up until you see the fruits. This is because they both have similar leaves, flowers and tree size.
Medicinal Use Of Kumufutu Tree
In another example of our ancestors knowledge on the epidemiology of disease, their natural history and remedies, the roots of the kumufutu tree like those of the kumuchanjasi tree were of value to Luhya traditional medicine. The roots of the kumufutu tree were used to treat sexually transmitted illnesses. Particularly the sexually transmitted disease – gonorrhea – commonly referred to as endwasi in Lunyole and Lubukusu.
Bukusu riddle on kumufutuu tree
A Bukusu riddle goes:
| Riddle | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ndi ne chimuka change chawa bikutwa_ (I have my gourds with caps_) | Chifutu. (fruit of mufutu tree) |
